


Life is Beautiful

by LadyGerbilLuna



Series: Avengers: The Sounds of Life [7]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, Magic, Tony Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, somewhat suicidal Tony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-20
Updated: 2017-05-20
Packaged: 2018-11-02 17:30:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10949349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyGerbilLuna/pseuds/LadyGerbilLuna
Summary: ~~Indicates lyricsLyrics by Sixx AMTRIGGER WARNINGSAfter the Civil War, the former Avengers fight against magic, and Tony must make a difficult choice: die, or let Bucky and Steve die. But for him, it's not really that difficult...For Steve... well....





	Life is Beautiful

**Author's Note:**

> Please be aware that this may trigger. Tony has very little regard for his own life.

~~You can't quit until you try, You can't live until you die, You can't learn to tell the truth, until you learn to lie~~

Tony hated magic with a passion. Some would say it had to do with the fact he couldn't analyze it or take it apart, like many things in life, and it became harder to counteract. 

It also put people in danger, so there was that, too. Such as now...

Now, he stood at the top of his tower, what used to be the Avengers surrounding him, and there was no happy reunion. This was a battle, and they didn't work seamlessly anymore, not like before, not since after...

But that was besides the point.

This madman, whatever his name was, had easily wrapped them in magic, and though Wanda definitely seemed to try and counteract the spells, he had the upper hand. 

“Now I give you a very simple deal,” said the man, with a yawn. “We all know what type of man you are, Anthony Stark.”

On the tip of his tongue, Tony thought about sarcastic comments. He settled for a glare, because this dance seemed so old. 

“Simple. You continue to fight me, which I don't mind one bit, and I kill Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes, or you fall off the building, and your teammates are free. Simple, you see? After all they did, it wouldn't be hard now, would it?”

His anger was legendary, he figured. Hadn't everyone heard of the famous battle, the reason they had all split? They probably all thought it an easy choice. Well, not Natasha, probably. How many hours had they spent talking? 

He glanced at her. She gave the barest of head shakes. Give us more time, it said. He looked at Steve, met those sky blue eyes.

Tony closed his eyes, and took a breath.

~~You can't breathe until you choke, You gotta laugh when you're the joke~~

Steve gritted his teeth. He hated the useless feeling, not being able to move. 

If they managed to survive, if they managed to one day put their differences aside, they really needed to work on fighting against magic users. 

He watched Tony. His brows were slightly furrowed, and yet not in anger, and his lips were curled in the barest of smiles. Not happiness, Steve realized, but sorrow. 

“Goodbye,” Tony said, opening his eyes, looking at him. It felt like a farewell of a soldier to a spouse...

And the realization hit Steve like a train, his eyes widening, even as Tony simply leaned back, the armor disappearing like it never existed, as he hit the magic barrier around the building, and the arc reactor turned dark. 

Steve didn't realize that the scream that cut through the air came from him, that instead of attacking their enemy, he raced to the side of the building, watching as Tony fell.

~~There's nothing like a funeral to make you feel alive~~

'So this is how I die,' Tony thought, as everything fell away, fading into gentle arms. 

He was slightly startled when he awoke to the sound of sobbing, apparently laying in his bed. 

“Oh God, Tony,” Pepper managed to choke out, squeezing his hand to the point of pain. 

“You....are a fucking idiot,” Rhodey said, from his other side. 

Steve stood at the end of the bed, face carefully blank, except his eyes were bloodshot, his hair in disarray. 

Tony looked around, realizing others were in the room as well...the rest of the Avengers...former...

He blinked.

“So this is the Afterlife?” he rasped. 

“Oh my God,” Pepper managed, leaning her head down, resting her head against his hand.

“Can you stop saying stupid shit?” Natasha asked. 

“I'm not dead?” he asked, looking down, confused. The arc reactor glowed again. 

“No,” said Clint softly. 

“Someone saved you, or two someones, or something,” said Sam.

“What?” he asked, glancing around the room. Wanda, Clint, Sam, Steve, even what's her name, Sharon or something...all of them were here? Why were they here?

“Magic, probably,” said Bucky. “Or we think it was, since they disappeared shortly after we got down to...to...you.”

“Masked,” said Vision. “The woman said softly, 'Oh, Tony,' touched the arc reactor, and it lit once more.”

Pepper snorted, a half laugh, half sob, squeezing his hand even tighter. 

“The media's going crazy, camped outside the doors.”

“What?” he asked. That seemed to be his favorite thing to say at the moment...

“That maniac had the fight on the news,” said Rhodey. “That's how Pepper saw...”

Tony closed his eyes, shaking his head. Nothing of this made sense to him. This whirlwind of a reunion, the team (former, his mind said) in the room, the feeling of his two best friends squeezing his hands numb...

Being alive...

“I'd like to talk to him, please,” said Steve, softly.

The room stilled. He figured a few people, probably Pepper and Rhodey, glared at Steve, but Tony didn't look to check, only opening his eyes to stare. 

He did blink when Bucky punched Steve squarely in the arm, definitely not pulling the punch, if the stagger and wince were any indication.

“Stupid dumbasses,” said Bucky, dragging a few people out of the room. The others filtered out, glancing between the pair. Pepper left last, glaring at Steve as she stalked out.

“Why did you never say you loved me?” asked Steve. “And please don't try to lie.”

Tony rubbed his temples. “This conversation's a bit much for someone who nearly died, Steve.”

“But you're not denying the love part?”

He considered getting up and punching the man himself. He managed as far as two seconds on his feet before his body gave out, clearly alive, but not recovered. Steve's arms were warm, holding him carefully, like holding glass. 

“We tried to kill each other,” Tony gritted out. “You went with Bucky...”

“You pulled the punches,” replied Steve.

“So did you.”

“You saved us.”

“Don't be stupid, Steve,” came the weak reply. Steve shook, wouldn't let go of him.

“You died. You didn't even hesitate for a moment, did you? You always put your life on the line for us, for me...you....”

“I'm sorry?” he tried. 

Steve stilled, finally. Was that a bad thing? Did he say the wrong thing, again? Would they fight? 

“I'll try to be a better person this time,” whispered Steve.

“What? You're Captain America. You can't be better.”

Steve glared at him, the effect ruined by reddened eyes. 

“Next time you do something that stupid...take me with you.”

Tony's breath hitched. They had so much to talk about, a lot of healing to face, and probably lots of arguments ahead of them. 

Yet, as Steve kissed his hand, gently, he thought that maybe the future wouldn't be so bad after all, now that he had this...

~~Just open your eyes...~~

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure if this will become a part of it's own story or not, since we have mysterious characters. Plus, I imagine the maniac at the start of the story as Kefka from Final Fantasy 6, because he's an epic villain.


End file.
